hi all~
i haven been writing much on moi blog lately.
cuz it's restless after a day out... well today, i'm staying @ home all day and i find today's papers quite informative and interesting.

firstly, i read about the tiwary case and was wondering how's the verdict worked out. there's no die-hard evidence (i mean for e.g people seeing him doing so, or photographs showing his actions etc.) that tiwary did grab the bat and smashed the 2 victims. it's like the presence of him being at the crime scene and some blood stains on his hands are part of the evidences that show the possibility of him being the murderer, but not definitely the killer. and most probably, the verdict's gonna to point out tiwary as the killer and having him put behind bars for life. wat if all these are wrong and tiwary is still biting hard on that he's innocent. his story sounded okay and not too 'impossible under that kinda situation', so i think it would be a very sad ending eventualli if the whole investigation was concluded with doubts that was not uncovered... aniway, it's realli sad for the death of the 2 smarties in aust. they're clever and young, yet they died a painful death. i curse the murderer to the B18000 of hell, even if it's realli tiwary.

ok enuff of crimeful story, i saw a very informative article done in today's 'mindyourbody'. it's bout flus and colds, these 2 may be your best friends amongst the others. so read the bottom for the little summary that i'd extracted from the article. all copyrights to The Straits Times mindyourbody June 21, 2006.


Advice not to be sniffed at Cold comforts

Difference btw cold and flu
---> both are respiratory infections (infections of one's airway which includes the nose, throat and lungs)
cold: caused by any one of over 200 different viruses.
flu: caused by the influenza virus only
---> both of their symptoms are similar and hard to differ, but generally speaking, flus tend to have more severe symptoms than colds.

How long should a cold/flu last?
- ranges from mild to severe
-healthy pple start to feel better in 3-4 days with symptoms going off in 1/2 weeks, though cough may persist up to 3 weeks
- pple who develop flu-like symptoms (well, these symptoms are quite a bit to write here, if ya wanna noe, it's best to buy a copy of today's straits times~) should consult doc promptly, esp if the symptoms are severe, or if they worsen or develop other symptoms such as vomiting, chest pain or coughing with thick yellow-green mucus.

How do we catch a cold/flu?
2 ways
(1) Airborne - person inhales infectious particles from some one's cough or sneeze in the air
(2) Direct/indirect contact - person brings infectious respiratory secretions/viruses to his/her eyes, nose or mouth. e.g having touched he doorknobs/handrails which are infected before touching your eyes/nose/mouth.

Best way to recover from a cold/flu
- adequate rest and sleep
- keep well hydrated (6-8 glasses of water per day)
- refrain from drinking caffeinated or alcoholic drinks (they dehydrate ya)
- good hygiene to prevent spreading the infection to others, like you cough or sneeze with tissue lar and throw'em away properly, 好心你啦

How to minimize the chances of catching a cold/flu ?
- maintain healthy lifestyle so that ur immune system is boosted
- prac good personal hygiene by washing hands frequently with soap and water, esp b4 touching ur eyes/nose/mouth
- avoid close contact with pple who're ill
- avoid sharing eating utensils, towels and bedding with others

Does Vitamin C prevents a cold/flu?
- in a 2004 Australian review of available studies, there was once again no strong evidence that Vitamin C reduced the incidence of colds.
- however, there appeared to be a small but consistent reduction in the duration and severity of colds with regular consumption of Vitamin C.
- Unfortunately, the optimal duration and dosage is yet to be determined.
- *cuz when they're down with cold/flu, they thought that their regular consumption of Vit C would help, so psychologically, they're already +ve in fighting the virus and so they recover faster lor~ wahahaha! 长今说：对付病魔最好的方法不只是药物，而是病患本生啊~*